NASASpaceflight reported Saturday morning that SpaceX had lifted Super Heavy Booster 21 off Pad 2’s orbital launch mount and raised it to the top of the tower. NSF called it a chopsticks test tied to future catch operations, hours after Friday night’s 33-engine static fire.
Starship Flight 14: Booster 21 has been lifted off Pad 2's OLM and lifted to the top of the tower. That's part of the chopsticks test related to future catches.https://t.co/HSumkyMfYU pic.twitter.com/vuXL24ptEE
— NSF – NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) August 29, 2026The lift is the next hardware move on the Flight 14 stack. Booster 21 is the Super Heavy assigned to that mission. NSF posted video of the booster coming off the mount and going up the tower, and later being lowered as well.
Booster 21 being lowered as dawn breaks. https://t.co/vsFCJ7QIZG pic.twitter.com/StYfx7dkUs
— NSF – NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) August 29, 2026Chopsticks After Fire
On Friday, SpaceX ran a full-duration, 15 second, 33-engine static fire on Booster 21 at Pad 2. The lift up and down has tested the very same Super Heavy going up and down the tower.
That sequence is familiar Starbase choreography. After a pad static fire, SpaceX often uses the mechanical arms to pick the booster up, clear the mount, and prove the tower can still grab a Super Heavy that has just been through an engine firing.
A Catch Rehearsal
NSF framed the move as chopsticks testing for future catches. Super Heavy has already been caught at Starbase on earlier flights, meaning it is just a matter of testing process now. Flight 14’s more ambitious goal has been catching Starship, not just Super Heavy.
A tower lift is still useful work. The arms have to close on a booster, take its weight, and carry it the height of the tower without the vehicle on a catch trajectory. Doing that with Booster 21, after a 33-engine firing, puts Flight 14 hardware through the same path it will use on recovery day.
With Booster 21 rolled out to Pad 2 earlier this week, the static fire conducted, and the chopsticks lift complete, the only things left are stacking the Ship and launching.
